cannabisnews.com: Drug Warrior's Shadow Looms Over CA's Pot Clubs
Drug Warrior's Shadow Looms Over CA's Pot Clubs
Posted by CN Staff on December 30, 2007 at 18:43:47 PT
By Steven Wishnia, AlterNet
Source: AlterNet
California -- The man tapped by President Bush to be the top federal prosecutor for the San Francisco Bay Area was a hardline drug warrior during his tenure in the same post in the 1980s -- which could signal an escalation of the administration's crackdown on California's flourishing medical-marijuana clubs.Bush named Joseph Russoniello, 66, on Nov. 15 to be U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, which covers the state's coastal regions from Monterey to the Oregon line. If confirmed by the Senate, he would fill the position formerly held by Kevin Ryan, one of the eight federal prosecutors fired last December.
The Senate is expected to take up his nomination next month. No formal opposition has developed, but Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- who butted heads with Russoniello in the late '80s while investigating allegations about the Nicaraguan Contras' cocaine trafficking in California -- is "looking into this nomination very closely," according to a Senate aide.The appointment has many in California's medical-marijuana community wondering if Russoniello would intensify the crackdown on the state's cannabis clinics. As federal prosecutor for the Northern District from 1982 to 1990, he was a cofounder of the CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) program, an annual series of paramilitary federal-state raids on pot farmers and their neighbors. He also accompanied Nancy Reagan to the Oakland elementary school where she first intoned her anti-drug mantra, "Just say no," in 1984.Russoniello fitted in well with the Reagan administration's crime policies, which switched enforcement priorities from white-collar crime to drug offenses. (In fact, Rudolph Giuliani, then the third-ranking Justice Department official, interviewed him for the job.) The Reagan "war on drugs" whacked marijuana farmers and small-time black crack dealers with five-year mandatory minimums and intensified forfeiture laws so that someone caught copping $50 worth of dope could have their car confiscated. In a 1994 interview with Smoke and Mirrors author Dan Baum, Russoniello recalled that he was happy that the department was going to get tough on drug users as well as on dealers; that he believed drug treatment was a government-sponsored crutch, that methadone maintenance merely prolonged addicts' dependence; and that the widespread pot farming in Northern California was like "an open wound on our prayer hand.""We don't need another pot warrior trying to run roughshod over California's medical-marijuana law," California NORML head Dale Gieringer wrote to supporters, calling the nomination "an ominous development." The Bay Area is home to 36 of the state's more than 200 remedial-reefer dispensaries, including four licensed by the city of Oakland, and the Northern District also covers Mendocino County, which lets medical growers cultivate up to 25 plants per patient, and Humboldt County, which is to pot farming what Nashville is to country music.Despite Proposition 215, the state's 1996 law legalizing the cultivation and distribution of medical cannabis, it remains inescapably illegal under federal law. The Supreme Court has twice, in 2001 and 2005, rejected Californians' attempts to win exceptions that would allow a legal supply.On December 13, after six years of litigation stemming from the 2001 case, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court's injunction barring three pot clinics -- including one licensed by Oakland -- from growing or distributing marijuana. In an unpublished opinion posted on the Internet by several legal sites, the Ninth Circuit held that it could not invalidate the federal prohibition of medical marijuana, because the ban had a rational basis and did not violate fundamental constitutional rights.Meanwhile, DEA raids on California medical growers and dispensaries have increased dramatically this year. According to California medical-pot advocates, there have been at least 53 so far this year, up from 19 in 2005 and 20 in 2006. On Jan. 17, the DEA raided 11 ganja clinics in the Los Angeles area, including five in West Hollywood, without making any arrests. On July 16, it seized eight people at Nature's Medicinal outside Bakersfield, and the next day it popped clinic operators in Riverside County and San Luis Obispo. In September, a raid on the Oakland headquarters of Tainted, Inc. resulted in four arrests; the defendants were accused of manufacturing cannabis chocolate bars, packaging them in logo-parody wrappers like "Mr. Greenbud" and "420 Grand," and selling them to medical-pot clinics. In October, two brothers were indicted for running the Compassionate Collective of Alameda County in Hayward, which the Northern District prosecutor's press office referred to as "a large-scale marijuana distribution center."Early this month, the DEA sent letters to the landlords of San Francisco pot clinics, warning them that they faced prosecution and forfeiture if they continued to permit drug sales on their property. It had sent similar letters to landlords in Los Angeles and Sacramento last summer. On Dec. 7, House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) issued a statement that he was "deeply concerned" about the threats, but the committee has no definite plans to hold hearings on the issue, according to a House aide."Their aim is to shut down medical marijuana in California," says Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a medical-pot advocacy group based in Oakland. "The strategy is to undermine the state's medical-marijuana law."Not all of the raids have resulted in indictments, however, and so far, the letters to landlords remain just threats. "I don't think pot is the major priority of the Department of Justice," Dale Gieringer speculates. Though he says that Russoniello "has always been our arch-enemy," he suspects that the DEA may be more zealous about eradicating medical marijuana than the Northern District's prosecutors are, citing comments Russoniello made to a local TV station earlier this year.Hermes disagrees. For the DEA to make credible threats, he says, "there has to be a coordinated effort," and the indictments in the Tainted case are "a pretty strong indication that the strategy is coming from the top."The U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco did not respond to phone calls or e-mails, but of the 60 cases it considered worthy of a press release in the last three months, three involved marijuana, with the Hayward bust specifically medical. That was more than the number of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine cases cited, but considerably less than the number of child-porn arrests, indictments, and convictions the office touted.According to California NORML, federal prosecutors have been harshest on medical marijuana in the Eastern District-covering Sacramento, Bakersfield, and the rural northeast and Sierra Nevada areas -- where they often pick cases up from local law-enforcement officials, many of whom never accepted Proposition 215 as a legitimate state law. In federal pot prosecutions, defendants are not allowed to mention even the concept of medical marijuana. Tough on Pot Growers, Easy on Contra's CokeThere was one case, however, in Joseph Russoniello's first tenure as a federal prosecutor where he was unusually lenient to drug dealers. In the "Frogman" cocaine-smuggling case-the touchstone of the late Gary Webb's investigative book, Dark Alliance, involving a network of Nicaraguan dealers who were donating profits to the Contras, the Reagan-backed terrorists who were trying to overthrow the country's leftist government -- his office returned $36,000 that had been seized from one of the defendants as "drug money."In early 1983, Russoniello trumpeted the bust of 430 pounds of cocaine from a Colombian ship anchored at the San Francisco docks. When Julio Zavala, a mid-level dealer involved in the scheme, was arrested, police confiscated the $36,000 from his bedroom. Yet after two Contra officials sent letters saying that the cash was actually intended to aid them, Russoniello's office had the money given back.Russoniello never followed the "Frogman" case up the ladder. He refused to prosecute Norwin Meneses, the top Contra-affiliated dealer in the Bay Area, even after Meneses' nephew informed on his uncle and two FBI agents urged the prosecutor to take the case.Russoniello repeatedly insisted that there was no evidence the Contras were connected to the Meneses drug ring. He told Webb that he had returned Zavala's money because it would have cost too much to send someone to Costa Rica to question the Contra officials. But in 1998, CIA Inspector General Frederick P. Hitz told Congress that the agency's investigation had found a cable which "indicated the money was returned to Zavala at CIA's request." In Dark Alliance, Webb noted that a 1997 report by the Justice Department's inspector general concluded that the CIA had suggested that it would be bad publicity if a trial on the issue revealed the dealer's ties to the Contras, with cables describing the prosecutor as "most deferential to our interests."According to the Justice Department report, the San Francisco federal prosecutor's office told the FBI in 1987 that it had decided not to go after Meneses -- who had returned to Central America in 1985 and ostensibly become a DEA informant -- because it didn't want to jeopardize the Los Angeles office's prosecution of Danilo Blandon, the prime Contra-affiliated cocaine dealer in Southern California. The letter the office sent said the decision had been made by Russoniello, the two FBI agents, and the assistant prosecutor on the case, and that the prosecutor handling the case against Blandon had told them Meneses had agreed to cooperate. But the Justice Department report said the L.A. federal prosecutor had "no recollection of the cooperation agreement to which this referred, or of meeting with anyone from San Francisco concerning the Blandon case," and its investigators "did not find any written agreement in U.S. Attorney's Office or FBI files."Blandon was not charged until 1992. He became a DEA informant and set up his former top customer, L.A. crack magnate "Freeway Ricky" Ross, who got life without parole. Meneses was indicted in 1989. He was never arrested by U.S. law enforcement, but was nabbed with 725 kilos of cocaine in Nicaragua in 1991 and sentenced to 12 years."We had a terrible, terrible time getting information about Meneses from the fellow who was the U.S. attorney out there at the time, Russoniello, who was as rabid a right-wing true believer as ever came down the road and who was bound and determined to prevent anyone from learning anything about that case," Kerry Committee lawyer Jack Blum told Webb. "He and the Justice Department flipped out to prevent us from getting access to people, records, finding anything out about it. It was one of the most frustrating exercises I can ever recall."Note: Bush's pick for a CA prosecutor post of hardliner Joseph Russoniello signals a possible crack down on the state's multi-billion dollar pot industry.Complete Title: Drug Warrior's Shadow Looms Over California's Pot ClubsSteven Wishnia is the author of "Exit 25 Utopia," "The Cannabis Companion" and "Invincible Coney Island." He lives in New York.Source: AlterNet (US)Author: Steven Wishnia, AlterNetPublished: December 30, 2007Copyright: 2007 Independent Media InstituteContact: letters alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://www.alternet.org/story/71263/California NORMLhttp://www.canorml.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #37 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 04, 2008 at 11:30:30 PT:
Once again I'm touched by your words Hope
I do what I can to help. I feel that it is my duty as an American to stand up for what I truly believe in. And I truly believe that we Americans have the right to use this miraculous plant. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try to help in some way.And it's encouragement like yours that keeps me fighting. So I thank you deeply for that.You are an amazing person, and I'm glad to have you on my side.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on January 04, 2008 at 08:50:15 PT
Fight 4 Freedom
Happy New Year to you and yours!
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on January 04, 2008 at 08:48:56 PT
Fight 4 Freedom
You're trying to do something about it all. I appreciate that. The fact that you are as young as you are and that you are working so hard to help change draconian laws in this country means so much to me. So many people are so apathetic about it all. You're not. You're standing up and battling a great wrong. So many young people are just bull dozed away by it all, brainwashed, or hopeless... yet there you are... not apathetic. Not hopeless. You're actually doing things to help, to defend others, and yourself. Yes. That means a lot to me. On top of that. I really like you. You're a peacemaker. You're a defender of the defenseless. We'd be less than we are without you. "We" being all of us that are trying to save this country and it's people from the money making, people smashing Gulag our predecessors in government have given us in the name of their War on Drugs.
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Comment #34 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 04, 2008 at 08:03:43 PT:
Hope comment #25
You are so very sweet. Thank you for those kind words. You just made my day :)Happy New Year to You and Your family.
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Comment #33 posted by Hope on January 03, 2008 at 14:25:10 PT
Lineman...
I don't recall your moniker... if this is the first time you've posted... welcome.I don't understand your post. Why isn't a person of faith "free"?What is a "prayer hand"? What was the guy you quoted meaning?
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Comment #32 posted by lineman on January 03, 2008 at 07:34:05 PT:
prayer hand
> I believe good things come from faith not bad things.Joseph Russoniello said that the widespread pot farming in Northern California was like "an open wound on our prayer hand."
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Comment #31 posted by lineman on January 03, 2008 at 07:24:02 PT:
faith
A person of faith can never be free.
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Comment #30 posted by runruff on January 01, 2008 at 10:26:02 PT:
JustGetnBy
Hear! Hear! Likewise I'm sure!It is good to see you. Thank you for always being there.My wife thinks you are great and so do I.HNYLove, from Hunky Doreyville!
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on January 01, 2008 at 09:27:07 PT
JustGetnBy
Happy New Year! That was beautifully said and true.
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Comment #28 posted by JustGetnBy on January 01, 2008 at 09:21:39 PT
Faith/Heart
I believe Faith starts and is nurtured in your heart, or spirit if you prefer.If tended it will grow or spread to your
head. A person of faith who knows they are free is indeed free. I think thats why I come here every day, to mingle with like minded people. Happy New Year to my C-News family
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Comment #27 posted by John Tyler on December 31, 2007 at 15:24:03 PT
Re Nancy
My mother in law was like that. She didn't like so called "illegal drugs", but she was a high end pill junkie for over 40 years. She died last Feb. at 86. She particularlly liked muscle relaxers, with a valium, polished off with a nice vicodan. Talk about wiped out for the evening!
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on December 31, 2007 at 12:28:05 PT
Good things and bad things...
"And all things work together for the good of them that love God."
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on December 31, 2007 at 12:23:49 PT
Worcestershire Sauce
Years ago on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, I remember there was an old man, over a hundred years old, that said his "secret" to longevity was a spoonful of Worcestershire Sauce every day.:0)Fight4Freedom. You are a joy to me in so many ways.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 11:29:44 PT
museman
I believe good things come from faith not bad things.
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Comment #23 posted by Had Enough on December 31, 2007 at 11:25:20 PT
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Down on Genesis, Kirk and McCoy watch the Enterprise looking like a giant meteor burning though the sky. "What have I done, Bones?" Kirk asks sullenly. "What you had to do... what you always do... turn death into a fighting chance for life," McCoy answers him. They set out to find the Klingons holding Saavik and Spock.They approach the clearing, and quickly overpower the two remaining Klingons who are not expecting company. Looking at the dying planet they are stranded on, Kirk calls Kruge on a Klingon communicator and tells him that he has Genesis, but the Klingon will have to beam them all up to get it. Suddenly, Kruge appears before them in the whine of a transporter beam, holding a disruptor. He has everyone but Kirk and Spock transported up. He demands that Kirk give him Genesis, but an earthquake knocks them both down, and Kirk springs on him. They fight as fissures open around them, the trees catch fire, and lava bursts from new volcanoes in the distance. Kirk tries to reason with Kruge, saying "Look around you... this planet is destroying itself." "Exhilarating, isn't it," is Kruge's reply. "If we don't help each other, we'll die here," Kirk yells over the roar of destruction. "Good, then that's the way it will be," Kruge shouts back. They wrestle more, but a ledge gives way under the Klingon. He holds on by his fingers and Kirk tries to save him. But Kruge grabs Kirk's foot, trying to take him off the cliff with him.Kirk kicks him in the head saying "I [kick]... have had [kick]... enough of you [kick]" and Kruge plunges from the cliff into the lava below. Kirk scrambles up the cliff, grabs Spock and the fallen communicator and yells in an imitation of Kruge for Maltz to beam him up (in Klingon), just as the whole clearing vanishes in a volcanic plume.http://www.sharbonline.com/scifi/startrek/Movies/sfs.html
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Comment #22 posted by museman on December 31, 2007 at 11:16:54 PT
Had Enough -star trek
One of my favorite quotes is James Kirk;"I ..(kick klingon) have had... (kick klingon) enough...(kick klingon) of you!" ...and I think you know my reference.
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Comment #21 posted by museman on December 31, 2007 at 11:13:15 PT
FoM#16
That depends on what one considers an 'accomplishment.' Does Bush's "Mission Accomplished" count. And is there any real faith in the actions of that man and his fellows?Does work 'accomplished' at the point of a gun count? Or how about this entire 'civilization' that was built on false promises, false legalisms, and on the backs of the less endowed?I'd say that any real, lasting accomplishments must include faith, or else you have to keep policing them.
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Comment #20 posted by Had Enough on December 31, 2007 at 11:06:43 PT
Star Trek
Where in the World…is Spock when you need him???He would say what’s going on in the world is NOT logical.************Spockhttp://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/search/result.html?type=article&search=spock&category=
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 11:04:36 PT
Had Enough
I remember hearing that song on the radio years ago. I don't know anything about Supertramp because I stopped listening to music in the late 70s when we got involved in church and they talked negatively about rock music. It took me years after I quit going to church until I rediscovered music and now I just listen to music from the early 70s or late 60s.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 11:00:14 PT
Had Enough
I like logic and logic comes from putting two and two together. I call that connecting the dots.
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Comment #17 posted by Had Enough on December 31, 2007 at 10:54:01 PT
How about a Logical...
New Year to Come…Supertramp - The Logical Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBAasek8NR4Others do it too – sound quality is lacking but still good to see these youngins’ doing it too!!!Logical song (Supertramp) - Ensemble Impulsionshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2OcDDSJfkk
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 10:35:37 PT
museman
Faith is powerful. I actually don't know that anything could be accomplished by anyone without faith.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 10:33:51 PT
fight_4_freedom
I hope your Mom tries it. It's really good. Have a safe and wonderful time tonight. No one I know drinks anymore so no one will have a hangover. Enjoy!
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 10:31:10 PT
Hope
I will send you the recipe for the dessert today or tomorrow when things slow down. The Worcestershire Sauce adds more zip. It has 0 calories and I use it a lot on beef.We bought Cars for Christmas and we watched it and just thought it was adorable. We bought Happy Feet too. I guess we'll never grow up! LOL!
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Comment #13 posted by fight_4_freedom on December 31, 2007 at 10:22:19 PT:
Happy New Year C-News
FoM, that recipe sounds delicious. I'll hand that one over to my mom since she loves to try new recipes. And I also just bought her a cheese spread bowl for christmas. It's a big santa with the bowl as his stomach and theres a candy cane/spreading knife attached to the side which you can pull out. It's really cool lookin. I'll let you know if she decides to try it.As for me tonight, it's out to the bar district. Basically it's just one long street full of bars where everyone in the city hangs out. I was out there all summer petitioning and partying and haven't been back since right before I left for Cali this summer.It's the one good thing about living in a smaller city. You go out on New Years Eve and see everybody you grew up with. It's going to be a lot of fun.And I saved just enough medicine for the hangover tomorrow :)I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve. Time to celebrate our existence.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on December 31, 2007 at 10:13:25 PT
Worcestershire Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce always sounds so good to me. I don't know why. Maybe it's the ground up anchovies.I forgot to make that cottage cheese thing you told me about the last round. I need that recipe again... and I need to put it somewhere where I can find it.That cheese thing sounds good. I must not let food sound so good to me! I haven't weighed, but my pants aren't so loose and I'm getting worried. Thing is... your recipe is low carb. I like low carb.Hope you have a wonderful party this evening. I did see Cars... and it is a cool movie.
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Comment #11 posted by museman on December 31, 2007 at 10:13:25 PT
It's as good as we make it
Yes, 3% of the population control the world, and they are villains of the first degree. Left to their own devices, the gulags or 'detainment centers' would surely be full by next xmas.But they can't stop an idea, no matter how many bodies they destroy. And the destruction has been ongoing forever anyway, with fear and apathy cheering them on from the front row of the arena.A little bit of faith and belief can go a long way. Besides if you aren't on their list of 'liberals with bank accounts' they aren't going to pay any heed to you anyway. They are so confident of the power of their wealth, they can't even see any thing else moving in the world. So wrapped up in materialism, they won't see the Spirit until it's too late for them to act. So the moral is; If you want change, act under the radar of the fear-laden materialistic conditions they impose on us, and thrive in themselves. There is more true power and effect of a sincere prayer, than in all the lobbying, protesting, and politicking ever done towards change. In fact it was the prayers of all those not recognized by the powers as having any power, that got those lobbyists, protesters, and politicians even remotely close to resembling the truth in the first place.We can change the world one person at a time. That's how it's actually been done all along, but with a whole lot of mob-consciousness driving the lemming-like progression.If people live up to their own standards of good and right behavior, in how they treat each other, that in itself would metamorph this reality to a much higher level.I admit I would get some momentary satisfaction from say, the impeachment of bush and company, but that would take an incredible amount of energy that I believe could be put to better use; like educating willing young (and not so old) minds to alternatives.As long as we continue to believe in the power of wealth and materialism, over the power of love, trust, and providence, we will continue to be enthralled, no matter how strongly we rail against the false authorities and powers. Revolutions achieve nothing but momentary satisfaction for the surviving winners, the rest of the world goes back to 'business as usual' in less than a decade.The real revolution has been going on inside our heads and hearts for a long time, and that's the only one that will ultimately succeed.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 10:03:04 PT
OT: Hope and Anyone Interested
I have a good chesse spread recipe. I made mine up a little while ago. It's 8 ounces of cream chesse an a 5 ounce jar of Kraft Old English and an a 5 ounce jar of Kraft Roka Blue and a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce. Mix them all together and chill. I got the recipe from my sister over Christmas. You can then make a ball and roll it in crushed nuts if you want also. It's a sure crowd pleaser. Happy New Year 08!You can find the Kraft cheese where they sell Cheez Whiz.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 09:21:11 PT
Hope
If I didn't agree with you I wouldn't have any Hope.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on December 31, 2007 at 09:14:40 PT
A Glorious year for reform....
That's what it's going to be. God willing... and I'm believing He is.Prisoners will be freed. Laws will be changed. Hope will be born anew.This is the year we see some change... some good changes.Either that... or I'll see you guys in the gulag... or right before they hang us all.It's going to be a good year for us, I think.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 08:38:51 PT
nuevo mexican
My goodness you have a lot going on in your mind today. I have hope that we will see change in 08. I have been prodding myself to keep my focus and be positive instead of fearful. I believe that God is perfect but no man or woman is. Try to have a Happy New Year. I wish that for everyone.
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Comment #6 posted by nuevo mexican on December 31, 2007 at 08:31:50 PT
Happy 'iffy' New Year FOM!
2008 will be the 'Year of the Hero'!Thus, the world will rise to the emergency, address the situation, and by the end of 2008, Pluto, the destroyer/re-birther will be residing in Capricorn, sign of the Status Quo, so I recommend being far from anything tall, like skyscrapers and things falling from the sky, like comets hitting Mars and such! On Obamas' support for Nuclear Power:
Obama flunks the Nuke test, so I will work vehemently against him, as thankfully, Edwards and Kucinich are AGAINST it.This is what I was worried about with him.So I did the charts. Obama is a Leo, with Scorpio rising, like Bhutto's' Scorpio Moon, she knew she was going to be asassinated, and I think bush will likely do him in too. Any doubts anyone?bush is a racist, except when he's doing condi, that doesn't count you know, and I can hear the conversations now, can you? Cheney: what's the word?
agent: Word!
Cheney: Good!
End of conversation.Look at CNN's chiron today: Elections? Assassinations?(man, I can be depressing!)I am an eternal optimist, though you might not know it from todays' outlook!Any questions about how the world is run with guns, fear, threats, coercion and assassination? (Pluto)Must be a different planet you're on!Imagine the 'worst', and bush will provide it.What's more tragic than a symbol for women worldwide of hope and faith in the future, than gunning down the next President of Pakistan, so the whole world can see, AND get the MESSAGE!Let's just get this womens' rights thing out of the way, okay! And forget about civil liberties, justice, fairness, equality, PIPE DREAMS! You liberals, thinking liberal thoughts about peace, harmony, balance, and justice!And legalizing Cannabis, NO WAY, shut down the dispensaries!Fearlessly doing these nefarious things, knowing they will get away with it, just like they did with Paul Wellstone and his WHOLE family,(where is their families lawsuit, I guess they took them all out so noone would be alive to call for another investigation).Deep Politics, or 'voting by assassination', is the real American way. We run the world, like China and Russia, who share the power with us, and seem to control bush/cheney, who loathe doing ANYTHING good for America.I mean, if you got away with taking out the most anti-war Politician is history, other than Dennis Kucinich, why wouldn't you do it again and again and again.Oh, I guess this all started with Lincoln, over freeing the slaves, then JFK, a raging success, then MLK, another big 'hit', then RFK, bingo!Hey, we forgot John Lennon! The Cherry on Top for nixon, bush, Rumy, and the monsters of political Rock!Done!Oh, did we forget Benizir Bhutto?Taken care of! The GRAND PRIZE!Everyone knows these guys that are leading the U.S. off a cliff in no uncertain terms, and though we say their nukes are safe from the 'extremists', I and others, actually believe we have control over their nukes. And it is 'we' the U.S. that is the 'extremist'. And we support 'extremists' to make us look 'moderate' by comparison!Think about it, WE control Pakistan, through coercion, bribes, gifts, (11 Billion for the War on Terror, or should I say 11 Billion for their payoff for financing 9-11).Now, half of the money is unaccounted for.WTF!~And finally, the REAL fear card, Pakistans nukes, can become a subject of conversation, since when does a country with such a massive lack of literate people have nukes?Because WE saw to it, that's why!Anyway, Edwards chart for this year seems to be the most likely to win the nomination, with Obama being GE's nuke industries 'man in the White House'!(just in case he DOES get elected).The MSM and big corp are more afraid of John Edwards than Dennis Kucinich even, who they have paid off the media to marginalize both, whoever 'they' is, because he has MASSIVE popular support, that the media refuses to report on, so I WILL!Kucinich the Surprise Winner in Virginia Dems Poll With the voting ended and the results of nearly 7000 responses in,
Kucinich captured first place with 30% of the votes. Hillary Rodham Clinton
followed in second place with 27% of the votes, and the rest of the
Democratic contenders lined up under in totals under 15%.http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&
STORY=/www/story/12-28-2007/0004728631&EDATE=
If Obama comes out AGAINST building more Nuclear Power plants, GREAT! Until then, I'm off his bandwagon!So this cancels out any benefits from him being of mixed race, and I would rather have an anti-corporatist, and anti-nuker like Edwards, whose progressed chart reveals him to be the leader with the most integrity. The Sun AND Pluto in Leo, like Bill Clinton, and thus, a World leader, problem solver, and man of integrity, eclipsing Bills' big effect, and likely exposing the Clintons as the delayed promise of what John Edwards will really bring to the table!Edwards will be great PR for this place formerly known as America, now known as the Gulag!Obama is better on Cannabis than Edwards it seems, though Kucinich is the best, and if Edwards picks Kucinich or Obama, we will push the legislation through to legalize Cannabis, medical or otherwise!Won't we!Free the Herb in 2008!Now that would be great!Happy New Year??????????Remember when we said that last year?And what did that bring!How about a new slogan for the 'new year'!Like 'Happy Martial Law Year!'or maybe we should start saying: Miserable New Year!Then, things may turn around faster, as I don't see the 'happy' in anything right now, just the suffering, pain, lies and sickening effects of greed on a planet in its' last years.Happy New Year? How about 'Happy New President Year!'Or 'Happy Impeachment Year!'Know what i mean?I got it:Have a 'snarky' New Year! Yeah, thats it!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 06:40:47 PT
New Years Wish
I hope everyone is planning on having a Happy New Years Eve. We are having friends in and I'm making lots of good food and then we are going to watch Cars. That is a good movie if people haven't seen it yet. No one will have a hangover tomorrow either! LOL!I have high hopes for 2008. I haven't been this excited over a New Year coming ever. Stay safe everyone but have a wonderful time.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 31, 2007 at 06:10:55 PT
runruff
The drug I think you mean is called Miltown. Why I know that is because I was addicted to this drug for many years. I'm so glad those days are over for me.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meprobamate
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on December 31, 2007 at 00:14:17 PT:
Word!
Her daughter wrote a book which I read. She said her mom had been addicted to downers since the 50s. Her drug of choice back then was something called Millhouse or something like that. When valium came out she took to them like W took to power. She had her drugs delivered to her at the white house for eight years.Hypocrite? The word was invented to describe her.
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on December 30, 2007 at 23:38:22 PT
Nancy loves Prince Valium?
Was that a fact that Nancy was into valium? If so, that would shoot down her "Just say no" crap. That would be so hypocritical. I wouldn't be surprised though. It seems that the prohibs, as a group, tend to be sanctimonious hypocrites.
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on December 30, 2007 at 19:13:46 PT:
Backward Bush
I wonder if, like all of this morons heavy handed policies, this will backfire. Does our Federal Bumblement have the strength to withstand the backlash?This idiot judge sounds just like one of the, "useful idiots" that once served Hitler.If he once followed Nancy Reagan around parroting her stoned on valium rhetoric, You know he doesn,t have the sense god gave a goose.
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